This story is told in a little different fashion than other books in the Dr. Siri series. We move back and forth between two stories, and I wasn't quite sure what was going on in one of the story lines until we have some convergence. This story seemed a little more of a history lesson than the other Dr. Siri books and it made me a little sad. The book preceding this, "The Merry Misogynist" was a pretty dark tale and this one goes a step further that way with less humor to balance it. This is one of the better books in the series, but it oddly got a little draggy and close to boring with the prison sequence. I've now read all nine of these stories and finished this series. ( )

One of the things I really enjoy about the Dr Siri series is that amidst the murder mystery that must be solved, there is always history to be learned. In this book, Dr Siri goes on a government trip with his old pal, Civilai, to Cambodia in the middle of an investigation into a serial killing involving 3 women murdered with what appears to be epees. His visit to Cambodia brings back memories of his previous visit to the Phnom Penh and he's dismayed when he learns of the horrors of the killing fields. ( )

Dr Siri Paiboun, 74 years old and the official and only coroner of Laos, narrates most of this story from a cell in a Cambodian gaol, where he is chained up, awaiting death. Set against South East Asian politics 1978.

If you haven't read any in this series before, this is not the one to start with. It helps if you have at least read a few of the earlier books which will introduce you to Dr Siri, his assistants, his friends and his wife.You'll also learn something about the way Dr Siri communes with ghosts, and be introduced to his (or the author's) rather quirky sense of humour. On the other hand there is some quite serious political comment.Start at the beginning with THE CORONER'S LUNCH.

I didn't particularly like Clive Chafer's narration. He did an excellent job of the voices of the various characters but his delivery of the main connecting narration was monotone and flat. I also had a bit of a problem with his pronunciation of names - he seemed to be saying "Silly" for Siri, and I kept muddling other names up.

The seventh book in the Dr. Siri Paiboun series has the good doctor in the middle of one of the most horrific genocides of modern history. At home he is investigating the death of three young women by a most unusual weapon, the épée. Before he can release his results, he is off on a trip with his friend Civilai to Kampuchea (Cambodia) to try and forge a relationship with Laos' neighbor. They are accompanied by armed men everywhere and locked into their hotel at night but Dr. Siri finds a way out to explore the places he had visited with his first wife. What he finds shocks the daylights out of him. He is captured and thrown into a prison. Has he met his end along with so many in the killing fields of the Khmer Rouge?

Not only is the reader given a history lesson about Laos but we have been given glimpses of other parts of southeast Asia as well. I thought this book was the best of the series as Dr. Siri has a vision of what his own beloved country may end up like and it scares him. ( )

But this volume is dedicated to the spirits of the Khmer who perished under Pol Pot and the resourceful souls who survived. "There's always someone worse off than you, unless you're Cambodian." (Dr. Siri Paiboun, 1978).

First words

I celebrate the dawn of my seventy-fourth birthday hand-cuffed to a lead pipe.